Starcrossed

"Where to now?" He asked from the passenger seat of her car. They had been sitting in silence for quite a while, holding hands, each lost in their own morbid thoughts.

"I'm going to meet Sophie at dads. Tell them everything-"

"You're certain you don't want me to come with you?"

"It's dad and Sophie. It's better that I tell them in private, not that I don't love you. Not that they don't love you." She paused as if thinking back to happier times. "The three of us have been through everything together. You won't be excluded from much but this time it needs to be just the three of us. You aren't upset are you?"

"No," he gently assured her before kissing the palm of the hand his was holding.

"You can keep Gran company," the girl smiled with a fraction of a laugh somewhere between the words. "She's been wanting you to come over for some time now."

"Is it alright to be left alone with her?" he joked, never knowing what the flirty, cheeky elder was going to say next.

"I think she already knows you're taken," Kenzie smirked before kissing his cheek.

"See you there in a while then?"

"Yeah." Benedict opened the door and had one foot out of the car when she spoke his name. "Come here."

He leaned in towards her, not knowing what to expect. Given the circumstances, he had been very careful not to be too physical with her. The last time they had seen eachother had been their first big row. This was a delicate matter today so he didn't want to overstep his boundaries. Benedict was satisfied in the fact that she genuinely wanted him there, despite what she had said before. The moment she pressed her lips to his, he knew that she didn't want him anywhere but with her. He deepened the kiss, proving what he couldn't say at the moment. Their kiss said everything better than whatever speech he could have prepared. Her little noises made him smile into the last seconds of their kiss.

"Oh, I've missed you," Kenzie sighed staring into the eyes of the man she loved with her entire heart. "Now, go to Gran's."

"Take all the time you need."

She drove off in the car as he put his bike helmet on, his heart and head swimming with joy. She still loved him. Of course she did. She couldn't very well switch it on and off like a light. It was obvious that she was trying to do the easiest thing for them both but little did she know that being apart would be much worse than she had anticipated- he could see that much in her eyes. Maybe it was denial of what the doctor had just confirmed but Ben forced himself to believe that she would be alright; things would turn around soon enough.

---

"Come in! Just put the kettle on. Let me have your coat."

"Hello, Gran," Ben smiled, genuinely glad to see the sweetest old woman he knew. He pulled her into his arms and they stayed like this for longer than he anticipated, a welcomed surprise.

"How are you holding up, love?" The old woman lead the way to her sitting room. She plopped into her comfy chair as Ben took a seat on the sofa.

"As of today," he managed before a deep exhale, "we're losing her." The composure he had managed so far was quickly fading now that he was with her grandmother. This place felt safe for him and the woman across the sitting room table understood everything going on with the woman they both loved very deeply. He wiped the tears away as they fell down his cheeks. "He said two years at most but there was always a chance that she'd come out of it- a small one but…" Ben buried his face into trembling hands.

"I'm sorry she kept it from you for so long," the kind dear finally spoke, breaking the silence. "She didn't want to… It was for your sake. You must know that."

"I understand why she did it. Just wish she wouldn't have. Maybe if I had known sooner-"

"Nothing but your emotions would be different. Facts are facts and she didn't want your money."

"Even if it would have helped?"

"You know her well enough to know-"

"Stubborn girl," he chuckled to himself, a bit of light returning to his eyes.

Gran smiled at him, this man her granddaughter loved. Yes, the pair were perfect for one another. If anyone denied it, they were either jealous or had never been in love themselves. Their children would be absolutely beautiful and torn between two worlds- the dazzling life of their father and the more common life of their mother. A perfect combination it would be, she had decided after seeing them together a few times. And, most of all, he made the girl happier than anyone had seen her in years.

"You shook her up pretty good with your surprise," Gran announced before a light giggle; Ben knew exactly what Gran was referring to. "She came here before anywhere else. Burst through the door, plopped onto the sofa, then didn't take a breath for the next hour. Oh, she was a proper fool." She imagined the girl now, laying on the same sofa ranting about not knowing what to do.

Gran leaned in towards a completely focused Ben, hanging on her every word, and sighed, "I'll tell you what I told her." Ben's eyes were locked on the older version of his girlfriend's sky blue wonders. "You have to do what you know in your heart is right. Nothing or no one else in this world will ever lead you as true as your heart."

Her granddaughter's boyfriend finally looked down at his fidgeting hands, knotting and unknotting from eachother. He took her words in and let them tumble around inside his head before a long sigh in agreement.

"I'm not sure she'll like what my heart is telling me to do next," he blushed with half a chuckle in his throat.

"And what's that, dearest?" She watched Benedict's face light up with one of his genuine cheeky smiles.

"Can you keep a secret, Gran? Properly keep a secret?" he teased.

"I can make an exception for Sherlock," the old thing teased, a new excited gleam in her own eyes.

"Do you think I should ask her again?"

After her hands flew up to her heart, Gran happily breathed, "You aren't giving up."

"I can't. Too much in love to not give it at least one more go," admitted the uncertain man on her sofa. He was denied once. Could he handle the same rejection a second time?

"I think somewhere, deep inside where she won't dare let any of us see, she wants to say yes. Perhaps your asking a second time is just the trick."

"I hope so."

"And if she does say no a second time?"

"Then I'm still going to be there for her as if she said yes. She told me a while back that she didn't need a ring or paper to be married."

He didn't understand why Granny started laughing as if something were comical.

"Makenzie told you that?" Ben nodded, completely confused. "She lied to you, dear boy. Nothing has ever been more important to her than settling down, properly, with someone she was mad over. Someone mad over her. Kenzie was never crazy about belonging to a bloke- her mother's independence all over again. But as of last spring, she didn't think it was a possibility anymore. All but marked it off her list of hopes and dreams. Then there was you. I didn't believe her when she first told me. Didn't believe her the second or third time. I think it wasn't until you called while she was over that I even began to accept it." She gently laughed to herself, recalling the private memory he would never know more about.

"Has her father given you any trouble?"

"No more than to be expected when someone my age and status is involved with his little girl. Anything he says or does means more to me than he knows, the good with the bad. He knows her better than anyone else, with the exception of you, perhaps."

"No. Those two are… I've never seen anything like 'em. Thicker than thieves the pair of them. They were close before her mother died but afterwards- they've always been all eachother has. I'm just Gran," she chuckled. "I'm here when they need me- which is often enough. But they are almost one in the same, Ben. To love Kenzie is to love her father and vise-versa." A thoughtful pause. "Anything he says or does concerning the two of you is to protect her. He doesn't care about your red carpets and multiple homes. You want to impress him and earn his trust? Be good to Kenzie- better than good. Treat her the way you would want some bloke to treat your little girl."

"I've heard of that," Ben scratched his head, suddenly unsure. "Is it possible to ever completely win over the father?"

"Probably not. But keep doing what you're doing and things should be just fine." Gran stood from her chair. "Tea?"

"Please."

The moment she left the room, Ben buried his face into his hands. He was more than willing to go through hell to be with the girl, the woman, who had changed everything in his life. In that instant, he was reminded that their time was short. If only he could make the rest of her days as happy and full of love as possible. That was all he wanted anymore. Everything else would continue as it had for the last year. He was BenedictCumberbatch. Work would be there for a while to come. And if worse came to worse, he could take off for a while. There was more than enough money to take a long holiday to help his fiancé through her horrible ordeal. Besides, the doctor has said there was still hope; there was always hope. Ben hoped that one day they would be sitting on his sofa in London watching a film with their little ones cuddled close around.

His thoughts were ended when her car pulled in front of the house.

"They're here, Gran," he shouted down the hall to the kitchen.

"Alright," she called back.

Ben walked over to the door while pushing those thoughts away for now. held his daughter's hand as they walked up the front steps. The first time his stare met hers, he had to hold in the unexpected urge to cry. She was the bravest person he knew, looking as if nothing in the world was wrong. They forced a grin at the same time, each in their own thoughts. Kenzie released her father's hand to embrace the man she loved. Ben couldn't help pulling her closely to his chest, his hand combing through her hair, breathing the scent of her in.

"Give me a minute with your dad," Ben said in her ear using that sweet low baritone.

A loving nod of her head was his answer. The moment the door was closed, Ben approached . Immediately he noticed the red swollen eyes of a man crying for hours- the same eyes Ben had the night she told him. Growing a bit nervous, Ben fought the strong urge to fidget and cleared his throat. The last thing he needed was for to think him rude or impertinent.

"I just wanted you to know, respectfully, sir… I'm not going anywhere. I'm seeing this through, for better or worse." Oh, that last phrase slipped right out. Was it too soon for that? Would he notice the accidental gathering of specific words?

Instead of the uncertain or defensive behavior Benedict expected as reply, Makenzie's dad put a heavy hand on the other man's shoulders. Their sad eyes met in a moment so genuine.

"Good. Because if you left now, I think it would kill her."

As soon as the answer was given, Ben felt relief, more nerves, and an indescribable knot in his stomach. He had the father's permission to stay but that wasn't the same as approval- or was it? Ben was so lost in thought that he didn't even see or hear Sophie pull in behind Kenzie's car until she closed the door. had put on a good face and was already inside by the time the bubbly best friend made her way up the steps.

"I've heard you've been around but had to see it with my own eyes," she smiled up at him, the same red swollen eyes as the father. "Come here you!"

They embraced as friends, something neither would have ever expected in March.

"Hello, Sophie," Benedict laughed with his arms around the girl. She would probably be the maid of honor if there was ever a wedding, he thought with a grin. "Shall we?"

He opened the door for her, she went in with a word of thanks, then they joined the others in Gran's living area, cups of tea all around. Ben took his seat next to the brave Makenzie- the only one of the three without pink swollen eyes of fear. He wrapped his arm a little tighter around her while they had a chat with her family. While everyone was keeping the mood light and giving eachother plenty of laughs, there was still the unspoken fact hanging in the air. Today was alright, she was having one of her good days, but any good day could be the last.

Another round of laughter was dying down between the five of them when Ben kissed her temple and whispered, "I love you."

She turned her smiling face towards him and replied with her brave happy eyes. If all went well enough in the weeks to come, he was going to make this woman his wife. For as long as they both shall live.